The much publicized Nonini show at ”Plattan” in Vällingby that had been organized by the newly formed ”Leta Mleto Entertainment” was a major disappointment to Kenyans and enthusiasts who paid 200 kr to watch the Artist perform live.
There were two levels of lamentable failures that demoralized Nonini’s fans and undermined the ability of wannabe Kenyan promoters to handle the intricate details of a live show featuring a leading Kenyan Artist of Nonini’s calibre.
According to publicity that continued for a whole month, Nonini was supposed to start performing at 22 hrs. By 2.30 hrs, Nonini was still nowhere to be seen as more than 100 revellers heavily pregnant with expectation waited impatiently for their hero to jump on stage and deliver. There was no official explanation for the delay and fun lovers had to make do with disco music blaring from the speakers.
Kenyans who were working on Sunday and who had counted on leaving the hall by midnight went home without experiencing Nonini on stage because their jobs were more important.
When KSB arrived at the scene to begin covering the event, Evans Kamau, a key figure in the Leta Mleto bandwagon, came to me and warned that “there should be nothing in the Internet” about the show – Holy smoke!
The ban on KSB reflected the general apathy of the organizers on the concept of “Freedom of Information” when it comes to public functions in Sweden and it was easy to notice that the organizing crew badly needed a crash-program on “The Media, The Public And The Right To Know”.
The Nonini show was not an exclusive private event where attendance was by “invitation only”. Secondly, it was not taking place at a private venue where the “Management reserved the right of admission”. The public was paying a whooping 200 kr to experience a leading Kenyan Artist who was performing live at a public venue hired by the organizers. The venue was not hired for a “private” function but for a “public” event promoted through public means.
It was not the first show of its kind taking place in Stockholm. In the past, Artists like the late Lucky Dubbe, Brittney Spears, Israel Vibrations, Ziggy Marley, Mr. Nice, 50 Cents, Nazizi and a host of others have performed in Stockholm and the rules have been very clear. Individuals can take pictures and shoot videos with the only restriction being that any documentation cannot be sold or used for any commercial purposes without express permission of the Artist or the promoters.
If the event was taking place at a Restaurant or some Hotel in town, the ban on KSB could have been legitimate because any documentation at such venues in Sweden needed some kind of agreement since these kind of venues are not exclusively public places.
“ROBBERY WITHOUT VIOLENCE”
Because of its illegal nature, I simply ignored the ban and decided to take pictures as soon as the “curtain raiser” got on stage as Nonini cooled down backstage. They are the only pictures I took. It is at this point that one of the contacts of the organizers came along and requested for a discussion. Since there was a lot of noise in the hall from booming music and since KSB is always open to discussions especially on disputes, we walked out of the hall after which polemics about KSB coverage of the event went back and fourth.
As we were about 20 minutes into discussion, two Kenyans, Milton and Lillian burst out of the hall to inform us that the Nonini show amounted to “Robbery without violence”. When I enquired, they said that Nonini show was over after only 30 minutes and that they would never return to any Kenyan live show because it was all conmanship. “First, he keeps us waiting until 3 in the morning then he comes and performs for 30 minutes. This is a scandal”, Lillian said.
“The only thing I appreciate is that I have met Kenyans”, Milton said philosophically before the rather sophisticated couple walked away in protest. Our discussion about “Media coverage” ended there as I went back into the hall to find out Ukweli Wa Mambo.
Back in the hall, accusations flowed freely as Kenyan after Kenyan attacked the organizers for having fooled them into paying 200 kr for a 30 minutes show. In Stockholm, live shows where you part with 200 kr normally roll for an average of 3-4 hours with a minimum of 2 hrs being the bottom line. The expectation was that Nonini would perform for at least two hours with occasional breaks spread over the night. To add salt to injury, fans had to wait up to 3.00 hrs (early morning) before they could see Nonini.
According to Manto, a Kenyan, “it is better to attend the Sound of Blackness discos at Norsborg” because at the end of the action, “You feel satisfied”.
When Sound of Blackness brought in DJ Otieno from the United States this Summer, there were no complaints and some revellers felt guilty that the 60 kr they paid for the event was “too little” compared to the treat, given that Otieno had been brought in from the United States.
Likewise, there were no complaints when Sound of Blackness organized this year’s Grand Nymama Choma and charged 100 kr for meat and entrance to disco hall because Wakenya felt that they got their money’s worth. The dominant view at the Nonini show was that it was a “major fraud” where individuals around Leta Mleto might have conspired to use Nonini’s big name to try and rake in quick bucks using Wakenya as objects of wanton exploitation. This is unacceptable.
WHY THE SHOW WAS DELAYED UNTIL 3.00 HRS
According to a survey conducted at the venue, there was no question that Nonini was very good during the 30 minutes he performed. There was unanimity that the Artist should take no responsibility whatsoever for both the disappointment and the massive anger that followed it because revellers who watched him said that he delivered “to satisfaction” during his short time on stage with a few Kenyan ladies grumbling that they had banked on wriggling to “Manzi wa Nairobi”, a hit which the Rapper never performed.
The main problem was that the 30 minutes was not commensurate with the 200 kr Kenyans paid and this is why many revellers felt cheated while others contemplated taking action to get their money back. Unfortunately, the organizers were so smart that they gave no receipts for payments so you couldn’t prove that you had paid.
The question which has to be posed is whether Nonini was paid to perform for 30 minutes as Wakenya were hyped by Leta Mleto that it would be a “Show to remember!” Did Nonini travel all the way from Kenya to perform for 30 minutes at a cost of 200 kr per head or is it Nonini who has become one of the most expensive artists in the world?
It was not until KISS agents were assigned to investigate the reasons behind the media ban and the short performance that the truth of the matter began to emerge.
According to investigations, Nonini was diverted by Leta Mleto to Stockholm while on another undisclosed assignment. The ban on KSB was based on the fear that if publicity about his performance reached the Internet, information about Leta Mleto activities would reach the Swedish authorities and create problems because Leta Mleto was charging 200kr under an arrangement which did not include payment of taxes.
This is the same fear that led to the omission of the figure “200 kr” on the main advertisement leaf-lets that the new group was using to promote the show. Instead of writing “200 kr”, they used the words “mia mbili” (two hundred) so that a non Swahili speaker could not notice the fee immediately.
At first, Leta Mleto had announced that the Nonini show would take place at a pub in Sätra. However, serious disagreements arose on the question of “profit sharing” and other logistics forcing the group to change venue. Because he had to pay his taxes, the pub owner reportedly wanted a share of the gate collection while he insisted that he would pocket all money from drinks, a deal that was not so attractive to Leta Mleto.
The decision to delay the show until 3.00 in the morning was based on the strategy that if the performance started at 22 hrs as had been announced, it would be over in the next half an hour and anybody who came to the venue after Nonini had performed would not accept to pay 200 kr just to dance at the disco. In such a scenario, the profits Leta Mleto had projected for the show would not be realized.
Leta Mleto knew in advance that Nonini would be performing for half an hour but they did not tell anybody about this because such a disclosure could have sold the whole strategy because the truth of the matter is that very few Kenyans will part with 200 kr to watch an Artist perform for just 30 minutes. The whole arrangement was therefore a well-knit conspiracy by Leta Mleto to defraud Kenyans out of their hard earned money and this is a big shame. While the disco session was very successful, the live segment of the treat was a fiasco which should not be allowed to repeat itself in the future.
BANNING KSB WAS BASED ON ILLUSIONS
There are several groups (of the Leta Mleto type) in Sweden which routinely promote Artists from their countries with live shows. “Salem” an Ethiopian dominated group, is one of the most successful in the field and Leta Mleto could as well get there. In fact, there are groups that even manage to hook sponsorships for such events but the bottom line in Sweden is that you have to play the cards “above the table” because you will never get away with several live shows at 200 kr per head without being caught by the Tax authorities.
The ban on KSB at the show was based on the illusion that Leta Mleto could operate in the underground by playing hide and seek games with authorities. In the minds of Leta Mleto wannabes, keeping KSB out of the event would eliminate the element of exposure and reduce the risk of detection, a dangerous premise upon which to base a business venture in this country called Sweden which, nevertheless, is a “Police State”.
According to Mr. Kamau who is behind Leta Mleto, it was Nonini who requested the ban on KSB “because he had seen the blog”. Be that as it may, it was the responsibility of Leta Mleto to educate the Artist on the basic principles of freedom of Information in Sweden because the Artist was not performing in Kenya where you can get away with anything.
Leta Mleto could have informed the artist that the context and venue of the show was “public” and that in this country, even the police cannot stop electronic documentation of a public event. Banning KSB from covering public Kenyan functions is counter productive while such a move only attracts negative publicity as we fight back to defend the right to freedom of Information.
The only reason why KSB did not seek help from authorities to assist interpret the law in the face of a serious violation is because the Party could have come to an abrupt end and we were not going to take responsibility for messing up a Kenyan Party.
There are viable and real opportunities of promoting Kenyan Artists in Sweden. At the same time Kenyans paying 200 kr should get their money’s worth so that they don’t feel fleeced by extortionists posing as promoters.
The Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm failed to fool Swedish authorities by operating Kamukunji as an illegal pub which was not accountable. Kamukunji was closed down in November 1995 in a major scandal that was published in the Swedish press. Kenyans need to promote and support Kenyan groups involved in different ventures. However, these groups should also operate within the law and avoid violating basic rights and freedoms of Kenyans, the general public and various Media Houses like KSB.
Okoth Osewe
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